IT’S NOT ABOUT BEING VEGAN. IT’S ABOUT DOING NO UNNECESSARY HARM / {Suggested Contemplation / Behavior}
Scene from the movie “Powder” in which a hunter is taken inside the experience of his prey.
Here in the experience of time and space – where it seems we are separate and must “fight to survive” – it’s easy to see the apparent cruelty of everyday existence. Even if we do everything we can to limit all intentional harm, such as choosing to be “vegan for life” or to become a devout practitioner of ahimsa, we still cause collateral damage with nearly everything we “do.” Whether that’s wiping out an entire universe of micro-organisms on a surface we clean, to eating a salad, to squashing a mosquito that gets the best of us in a moment of reactionary weakness. The simple “reality” is that if we’re here in this world, we seem to harm others. So what can we do? Even if we believe in the most radical metaphysical views and work to “save” this separated dream-world not by trying to change it but by meta-forgiving it (as spiritual texts and awakened direct experience would attest), there are still things that are “good to do in the dream.” That’s the point of this week’s idea. Consider it a recalibration, or a simplified view among all the labels, divisiveness and defensiveness. This is not about being vegan. It’s about coming to recognize - just for example - that choosing a slice of cheese pizza (that seems so innocent and normal because everyone else is doing it) actually requires fellow sentient beings (with DNA and physical/psycho-spiritual structures very similar to our own) to endure lives of horrific misery. It’s about understanding the unseen effects of our causal thinking (decision making / action). It’s about remembering the beings in “the supply chain,” and choosing to let go of our largest and most obvious kinds of harm-doing - i.e. any such actions we CAN control. And it’s about simply encouraging / reminding all of us to consider our seemingly separate responsibility. Even if our time here is temporal and illusory, as a radically powerful species we do not physically need to consume animal flesh, their secretions or their hides. We don’t need to experiment on mice or monkeys to know what might harm “one of our own.” We can use our hearts and true minds and simply stop the medieval madness. By doing no unnecessary harm, we can thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually. Whether we call ourselves “vegan,” or merely someone who gives a damn about the welfare of others as our equals, we can choose peace. While we’re here, that’s what we can do. And to us, nothing could be more important.